Friday, May 20, 2011

WIP: Lhasa Help in the Garden

This week I've been working on a fun new piece...flowers and an adorable puppy!  


Lhasa Help in the Garden
11" x 14" oil pastel on rag board


I painted this with Sennelier oil pastels on a sand colored rag board.   I continued experimenting with underpainting in water soluble pastels.   Instead of priming the entire board in a darker color (my usual pastel primer in terracotta or aubergine), I toned the board with water soluble pastels and made a wash with water to begin to lay in the colors of the piece. 

I picked up a set of 12 Lyra Polycrayons last year for less than $5, so I thought I would give them a try here.  They worked pretty well, though next time I will use the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons to see which I prefer.



Lyra Polycrayons
Neocolor II Pastels


This technique helped me leave more texture from the pastel, and avoid blending the colors too much.  I have a tendency to "smoosh" (a technical term, I'm sure) the colors around too much and make for a muddy painting.  Often I do the same with paints, scumbling like crazy and wearing down my paintbrushes.

Underpainting with pastels also helps me to fine-tune the proportions before I go in with the o/p's, which are harder to remove if adjustments need to be made.

This painting is pretty much finished. I just have to let the pastels set a bit before I go back into a few areas: the hands and the dog.  I may finish it tonight, but probably not until Monday since I'll be getting ready for our mini jaunt to the BEACH tomorrow!  


Morehead
oil pastel on suede board


Some sea and sand paintings coming soon... stay tuned!



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